Designing electrical stimulation to treat hypertension using computational modeling

Active Project Grant Awarded Last action

Award ID
F31EB040109
Recipient
Awarding agency
Obligated
$43,868

Award facts

Assistance listing
93.286 Discovery and Applied Research for Technological Innovations to Improve Human Health
Completion date 0% complete
Place of performance
Durham, NC 27708, USA

Award details come from USAspending.gov.

Description

As the agency reported it.

Abstract
Hypertension affects over 1.3 billion people worldwide and nearly 40% of adults in the united states, contributing to heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure. Baroreceptor activation therapy (BAT) is a promising treatment for drug-resistant hypertension, using electrical stimulation of baroreceptors in the carotid sinus to lower blood pressure. However, current BAT systems also activate nearby motor fibers, producing intolerable side effects that limit stimulation intensity and therapeutic efficacy. This proposal seeks to design more selective BAT that maximizes baroreceptor activation while minimizing off-target nerve activation and associated side effects. The overall goal of this project is to design BAT with improved efficacy via reduced off-target nerve activation by establishing a validated, computationally guided framework. Aim 1 will develop and validate the first biophysical model of small diameter myelinated autonomic fibers using in vivo recordings from the RAT vagus nerve combined with optimization of ION channel conductances. Aim 2 will implement anatomically realistic finite element models of BAT in pigs and humans, constructed using multimodal imaging and validated with electrophysiological data, to characterize activation thresholds of on- and off-target fibers and define cross- species translation functions. Aim 3 will apply these validated models of PIG and human BAT to design and evaluate novel electrode geometries, placements, and waveforms that enhance selective activation of baroreceptors. The research environment at duke university offers exceptional resources to support this work. The neural prosthetics research lab provides dedicated in vivo electrophysiology suites, anesthesia and homeostasis monitoring systems, stereotactic equipment, histology and microscopy facilities, and an electrode fabrication laboratory, all essential for the proposed experiments. Extensive computational resources, including a dedicated subcluster on the duke compute cluster, enable large-scale model development and simulation. The strong intellectual community in biomedical engineering, neurobiology, and neurology, combined with access to the duke vivarium, the berd core for statistical support, and collaborations with leading peripheral nerve modeling groups, creates an ideal setting for advanced fellowship training and successful project completion. This integrative approach-combining in vivo neurophysiology, computational modeling, and device design- will produce the first computational models of BAT and new stimulation paradigms to improve selectivity. The resulting models will inform next-generation neuromodulation therapies for cardiovascular disease and other autonomic disorders, ultimately improving treatment efficacy and quality of life for patients with drug-resistant hypertension.

Quick answers

Who received award F31EB040109?

F31EB040109 was awarded to Duke University by National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioenginering (National Institutes of Health) on February 1, 2027.

How much is award F31EB040109 worth?

$43,868 has been obligated on F31EB040109.

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